


For his skills

by Ahhuya



Category: Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic
Genre: AU, M/M, Mafia AU, pure trash but still I wrote it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-25
Updated: 2015-10-25
Packaged: 2018-04-27 23:42:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5069416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ahhuya/pseuds/Ahhuya
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The head of the Sindria family is quite known around town even though it doesn't bring him lots of good things, one thing he never wants to lose again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	For his skills

**Author's Note:**

> Finished at midnight and I needed quite some google translate... well it's finished now and since I hadn't placed something on AO3 for a while, I thought this could do :) I'm more active on fanfiction.net now

The Sindrian group was one of the most known in the city. In just a few years it had appeared and grown into something nobody could see disappear ever again. Even the ones that weren’t involved in their business, knew that one name: Sinbad. The man had built his small empire together with a group of close friends, who were perhaps a bigger mystery than the leader himself. Rumors went that they all came from other important families, but no one could trace back their origin without having deep ties to those families.

But also because of their shady background the infamous group was feared by a big part of the city. An enemy to the big families, that was the most common view. Normal citizens didn’t dare criticize them, but showed their concern when back in their houses. So perhaps it was because of that, assassins were frequently sent to the main building. They were never seen again after they went on a mission. But it never stopped anyone from sending more assassins. Because for some reason, Sinbad had to die.

That was all the information the white haired assassin had been given and all he needed. He looked down at the main house from a rooftop. He only needed to check his guns on more time, the rest was sure to go well. He took one last deep breath before he jumped down. He felt somewhat nervous, a feeling he couldn’t understand. It was just an easy job. This Sinbad would be dead within a minute.

…

“We’ll continue this tomorrow.” The purple haired man said as he reached his room. His friends, who had followed him on the way, nodded.

“If you need anything, you know where to find us, Sinbad.” Hinahoho, his oldest friend said.

“I will.” Sinbad answered before he shut the door between them. He sighed and sat down on his bed. He never could’ve imagined being the leader of a gang would be this tiring. With all responsibility put on his shoulders, it became a little too much sometimes. Preserving ties with the other families was hard, even if he had their leader’s children in his house. It was never enough. He was one of the youngest leaders in the whole country. He shook his head, thinking wasn’t what he should do if he wanted to get some sleep tonight. Perhaps he should get himself another hooker. He felt need for some company.

He stood up again and walked to the window. The view of the city would do him good, he was sure of it. When he shoved the curtains aside though, he didn’t see the lights of the glowing city. Instead a barrel of a gun was shoved between his eyes. There was no time to think. He duck to the side as the soft clicking sound of the trigger being pulled sounded in the silent room. The silence was changed for the loud bang of the bullet leaving the gun and hitting the floor, leaving a high ring in Sinbad’s ears.

When he looked up at the open window, he could see white strands of hair blowing inside. Sinbad tried his best to stay serious, but deep inside he was annoyed. How many of these experiences had he had in this week already? Three? He couldn’t really remember anymore. He got at least fifteen assassins to meet him every month, no way could he remember them all.

Soon it wasn’t just the hair he could see. A face entered after the gun, then a body.

Sinbad blinked a few times. This guy… he was an assassin, right? He had never taken the time to watch the men that wanted to murder him (women were a different story as they usually came as hookers), but this one guy was a whole other story. The sound of a new bullet slipping into the barrel brought the man back to his senses. This was not the time to check someone out. He could get killed if he was distracted too much.

“You’re annoying.” Grey eyes looked down at the purple haired man. “Why don’t you just die already.” He set his feet down on the floor as he climbed inside. Within moments he pointed the gun at Sinbad’s face again, not letting him go this time.

“SINBAD!” The door slammed open and Hinahoho ran inside. “We heard a gunshot are you-“ His eyes drifted off to the other man in the room. He fell silent and prepared himself to attack whenever needed. He had dealt with the previous assassins, this one would be no different.

More footsteps followed, a couple of faces appeared behind Hinahoho’s tall back. The white haired assassin could see his plan had failed. He would shoot Sinbad now and- distracted by the new people in the room, he hadn’t noticed his target moving away to his comrades. The place his gun was aimed at was empty, just floor. He turned his head where there were now five people standing in the opening of the door.

“Shit.” He said under his breath and jumped back to the window where he had come from. He could hear the loud steps of the giant behind him. There was no time to waste, he couldn’t get caught. He would just come back later. Sinbad would be dead one day.

Hinahoho hung out of the window, watching the young man disappear in the darkness of the night. When he was nowhere to be seen anymore, the man returned to his boss’ side.

“You’re really irresponsible. It’s not like you to let them get this close and especially letting him go. What’s wrong with you.” He asked Sinbad who had only been staring at the open window.

“I want him to join us.” Sinbad only said. “That guy has great skills.”

…

“I’m sorry,” The assassin said as he held his phone in his shaking hands. He had failed his boss, this was bad. “He was stronger than I had expected, but I will kill him next time. I promise.” He could hear soft laughter from the other side of the call.

_“Just kill him and return to my side. Ja’far.”_

…

He did come back, that same week even. He waited for Sinbad to leave his place, to meet the head of the Amun-Ra family. The man was alone and thus weak, or at least that was what he had thought. He had waited for him to pass the main street. Murder in daylight, it wasn’t how he liked to do his job, but what else could he do? With Sinbad’s purple hair coming closer, he felt that uneasiness from before again. This time it had to work. He couldn’t… he couldn’t fail his boss again. Not if that meant he would send ‘that’ guy. Sinbad was only a few meters away, he had to strike now.

A swift sprint, his shadow stayed behind in the dark alleyway. From in his sleeve he took a small knife and aimed for the man’s throat. A quick move and his head would be rolling over the ground. But before his hand reached there, it had been caught by a bigger, tanned one. Sinbad, the name was slowly becoming a curse for Ja’far, had somehow been able to spot him. HIM, the assassin without any failure on his name! He could feel the amber eyes staring right at him, but Ja’far didn’t want to look at them. Instead he took a second knife and cut at the older men’s hand. It worked, the grip loosened and Ja’far managed to step back before anything else could happen.

He hissed and watched his target moving closer, wanting to grab him, to stop him. In a reflex he retreated. He really was weak like this. He was lucky the street had been abandoned so no one could’ve seen his failure (except for some security cameras he failed to notice in his defeat).

Sinbad watched his attacker run away. He had recognized those white hairs and that bloodlust from earlier. Without doubt it had been the same guy as who he had wanted to join his family. He blinked a few times, trying to get his grip on reality back. When the white hair disappeared around a corner in the dark alley, he started to pursue him. With big steps he ran into the shadows. The guy could’ve been gone already, like he had done before. But when he turned around the corner he saw him again.

“Hey!” Sinbad called out to the man, but lost his words soon after. The white haired assassin was sitting on a motorcycle and to Sinbad’s opinion he looked good as hell on it. Before he could speak again the loud roaring engine threw him out of it. He watched a dark cloud of smoke and just stared in front of him.

He stayed like that until he felt a soft poke in his side. He shook his head and looked next to him. There stood Sharrkan. Right, he was supposed to meet Sharrkan at the main house of the Amun-Ra family.

“You’re late. I know you have my brother’s trust for now, but he can leave you easily if he feels like it. What on earth are you doing in the place!” Sharrkan said and let his gaze drift to the smoke still present in front of them.

“He will become mine… for his skills. For his skills.” Sinbad muttered as he turned around and walked with Sharrkan in the way of the Amun-Ra house.

The young companion shook his head. “Yeah Sin… for just his skills.”

…

Sinbad stared outside of the window of the café he was having his daily coffee at. A soft sigh escaped his lips. He hadn’t seen his attacker for two days now and this killed him more than those attacks. He stood up and walked out of the door. He had business with the Artemina and Leoxses family today. An illegal trade in liquor and guns, his favorite one. If only those two family heads weren’t so demanding for once, that’d make it much easier. 

He stopped by his car and searched for his keys. Before finding them he felt a dangerous but pleasant presence behind him. He stepped aside and heard a bullet hit the pavement.  Behind him, dark gray eyes watched. A small flame of anger lit inside, anger for not having killed him yet. The assassin’s arm was stretched out, the gun in his hands.

Sinbad didn’t hesitate and grabbed him. The sudden grab surprised the assassin who toppled and fell against the hood of Sinbad’s car. Sinbad’s hold was strong, the younger man couldn’t move at all.

“You’re finally mine.” Sinbad whispered. He had waited to hold this persistent assassin for a while now.

A small ‘tch’ was his answer, followed by a “Just fucking kill me if you’re going to humiliate me”

Sinbad couldn’t help but laugh. “Why would I kill you? You would be the only assassin to live by my side. So just give up on killing me and join me.”

“Who would want to join you? I’ve got my own boss and I’m not going to betray that man for YOU.” The white haired man snapped back at him.

“That’s too bad then. Your boss surely is lucky with you by his side.” Sinbad commented. “So mister  _‘I want to kill you even though it’s impossible’_ do you have a name I can call you.”

“Why the fuck would I tell you. It doesn’t matter to you so fucking stay out of my own business.”

Sinbad pouted slightly. Why did this guy have to be like this?

“If you want to keep on murdering me, it’d be nice if I can yell your name when you run away.” He said eventually. His grip loosened a little, giving his attacker a chance to move again.

And that chance was used the moment the weight left his small body. He flared up and jumped away. Sinbad didn’t dare to chase him this time, the appointment with the Amun-Ra family had already suffered because of his actions. He was wise enough to know that messing with Artemina and Leoxses was even more stupid. But he did take his time to watch the white hair disappear once more.

…

“I’m sorry boss. I failed you once again.” Ja’far said as he watched Sinbad’s car drive of. His hand clenched tightly around his cellphone. He hated watching Sinbad leave unharmed again, it only showed he was a bigger failure than he wanted to admit _. “Did you already use up all your tactics?”_ Ja’far clenched is teeth. He pretty much had, that was wat irritated him so much. “He even said he wanted me to join him… but I would never leave you, boss.” Laughter, but Ja’far didn’t know what was so funny. _“If he wants you to join, then join him. It’s the best way to get close to him.”_

Ja’far shook his head. “I don’t play around, I kill.”

_“And see how well that worked out. I want him dead Ja’far! Or I’ll send Judal to replace you.”_

Ja’far felt his eyebrow twitch. Anyone but Judal, he hated to watch that cocky brat around HIS target. “Fine… I’ll go.” He said and hung up again. To join Sinbad, huh… that’d surely be a challenge.

=======

“Are you sure you should go out alone?” Yamuraiha asked when she saw Sinbad walking to the front door. “What if that assassin guy turns up again? One day he won’t miss and you’ll die.”

Sinbad snickered softly. He actually wanted to cross paths with that guy again, maybe that was why he liked to send the members of his family forward to appointments. That way no one could interfere with his special moments.

“Don’t worry Yamuraiha, I-“ He opened the door in order to walk outside, but what was behind it, stopped him in his tracks. White hair… grey eyes… Sinbad blinked a few times to check if he wasn’t hallucinating. When it was clear he wasn’t, he duck into a defensive pose. That was his assassin, no doubt. He could hear Yamuraiha gasp and he knew she would try to chase the guy away with whatever poison she had recently created.

What surprised Sinbad the most was the fact he didn’t have a gun against his face or a knife in front of his heart yet. Instead that guy just stood there, waiting for something. But when Sinbad didn’t say anything, he decided to speak himself.

“I decided to take your offer. I realized my boss wasn’t what he seemed like all this time.” He looked away. He looked so humble all of sudden, Sinbad didn’t know what to do. Yamuraiha did, and dragged her boss back inside the house, slamming the door in Ja’far voice.

“Sin! You can’t seriously think about having that guy join us! He’s been trying to kill you this whole week now.” She yelled at him, loud enough to be heard at the other side of the door. “And don’t come up with silly excuses. He is an assassin, you don’t need him!”

Sinbad pouted a little. The woman could say whatever she wanted, but HE wanted this guy. And he was the leader of their group, so he could do what he liked, right? He brushed Yamuraiha of and opened the door again. Ja’far hadn’t moved from his spot.

“Look, I have an appointment with one of my business partners right now. So you can stay inside the house until I come back. We’ll then talk with everyone about you joining us.” Sinbad said as he passed his soon to be friend. Before he stepped into his car, he looked back at the guy.

“Are you willing to give me your name now?” He asked.

The guy nodded. “Ja’far.” He said softly, but loud enough for Sinbad to hear him.

“Well then Ja’far, it’s a pleasure to have you join us.”

…

It was silent and Sinbad didn’t like that at all. He and Ja’far sat at one side of the room, his companions at the other side. There were only judging looks pointed towards him. Pisti and Sharrkan had a conversation in whispers, the others switched their staring from Ja’far to Sinbad.

“He is not joining us, Sinbad.” Hinahoho said eventually, breaking the silence around them. The other six nodded in agreement.

“We cannot forget he tried to kill you a few days ago!” Yamuraiha added, more nods followed.

Sinbad pouted and looked at Ja’far, whose expression hadn’t changed ever since the meeting had started.

“Look, we don’t know if he still wants to do that. He said he wants to join us and I think we should accept him.”

Ja’far softly moved his head and looked at the seven in front of him. “I won’t kill Sinbad. I’ve given up on that.”

“As if…” “Such a thing is hard to believe.” “You can’t be trusted!” “You didn’t seem to have a problem with it last week.” “What made you change your mind?” “Just go back to your boss already!”

“You guys,” Sinbad interfered their flood of comments, “I am his boss now and he will stay here! His skills are good and we could use a man like him.”

An irritated groan rose from the group. Sharrkan rolled his eyes and Pisti started laughing. “We know it isn’t just his skills you like.” She whispered under her breath.

Sinbad stood up from his chair and walked to the door. He took Ja’far’s arm and dragged the guy with him. “Whatever you say, I don’t care. Ja’far is  a part of our family now whether you like it or not. Get used to his presence or move back to your own family.” He knew and hoped they wouldn’t do the latter though. Sharrkan was on bad terms with his older brother, Drakon and Masrur had no home to go back to and Pisti barely spoke to her mother and sisters. The only ones who could leave his side were Yamuraiha, Spartos and Hinahoho, but Sinbad doubted they would. He had been the one to save them from their parents and the roles of their families. Who didn’t like the low amount of rules within the Sindrian family? Maybe Spartos, but everyone knew he still held on to his own family’s morals.

The door closed and Sinbad finally let out a sigh that had been stuck in his throat ever since the meeting had started.

“Your ‘friends’ don’t really agree with me, do they?” Ja’far said as he leaned against a wall and stared down to the floor.

“They will accept you. They won’t leave and neither will you.” Sinbad was serious. He didn’t want to lose anyone.

“I hope so.” Ja’far muttered. _‘I need to get past them to kill you’_

“Is something wrong?” Sinbad asked. He could see the younger man had something on his mind.

Ja’far shook his head. “It’s nothing. Maybe I should try winning those friends of yours over. They’d have to accept me someday, but why not earlier.”

…

Worn out, Ja’far let himself fall on his bed. A week had passed since he had ‘joined’ Sinbad. A week full of hell. None of the representatives of Sinbad’s allied families liked him. Well at the beginning that was. Ja’far had spent his whole week lowering himself to a level he detested, doing jobs for every single one of them.

First he had gone with Pisti.  The young girl seemed like she could be won over easily. But easy had been a blunt lie. He got no rest around her and even though he loved working himself to death, this wasn’t his sort of work. No, Pisti made him feed her birds, play with her birds, take pictures of her birds, clean the birdcages… Ja’far had no idea why that girl had that many birds. Budgies, parrots, canaries, cockatoos…  and if he wasn’t mistaken there was a toucan as well. He hated being around that many feathered animals. If they were snakes then it’d be fine, but birds. Those really weren’t his favorite. But it had been worth the sacrifice. Pisti liked him, saying not even Sharrkan would want to stay in her room for more than ten minutes.

After Pisti came her friend Sharrkan, who was way easier than Pisti (unlike Ja’far had expected). It only took a good spar, a few minutes against the tanned man, and he got invited for a drink. After some time Ja’far began to wonder what had been his real test. The spar or the drinking?

Spartos took more time. The red haired guy was rarely seen around and most of the time locked himself away in his room. Whenever Ja’far tried to talk to him, he would get shut out and ignored. The excuse that the rituals of the Leoxses family had to stay secret started to annoy Ja’far at one point. No matter what those secrets were, the man was no longer part of the Leoxses and thus didn’t need to keep anything secret. So in the end Ja’far broke down Spartos’ door and dragged him outside for a drink. Pisti and Sharrkan had quickly joined the party, making Ja’far glad he already had them on his side. With the presence of two friends around, Spartos had no choice but to comply. Even though Ja’far knew he was still warry of him.

After Spartos he tried Yamuraiha. The woman was a strange one. She only talked about her love of science and her room was filled with deadly poisons. She wasn’t somebody to mess with, that was obvious. Ja’far was prepared to do anything for her. Drink her latest poison, search for herbs, anything. He had been sure she would use this one opportunity to kill him. He was wrong. He got dragged with her to a bar and had to listen to her complains about men. It made Ja’far wonder how often these guys would get drunk and how they could still run such a successful business.

Now Ja’far had no idea on what to do anymore. The four he had gained as friends were also the ones that were the easiest to manipulate. The problem was with Masrur, Drakon and Hinahoho. No matter what Ja’far tried to do, he couldn’t even get close to them. When he tried to interact with Hinahoho’s children, those got send to their rooms instead. And there was the time when he tried to make some small talk with Saher. Again he got chased away when her husband saw them talking together. He knew there was something like _‘he’s dangerous, don’t stay around’_ coming from Drakon’s mouth, but he tried to ignore it. And Masrur… Ja’far had no idea how to get through to that guy. He was silent and sometimes not even around. The only thing Ja’far would see of him during the day was his red hair sticking out between some leafs of a tree.

A soft knock on Ja’far’s door made him jump out of his tired mind. Before he could walk to it and open, strands of purple hair peered through the now opened door.

“Ja’far?” It was Sinbad. Great, what did he want know? Couldn’t he see Ja’far wasn’t in the mood for anything but time alone? Apparently not.

“What is it, Sin?” Ja’far had made it a habit to call him Sin now.  That way he would look more familiar with the young boss.

“Next month there will be a meeting with the Caluades family… and I-” Sinbad scratched his check. “I wondered if you’d join me on it.”

Ja’far tilted his head. “What about the others? Don’t you always take Sharrkan or Masrur with you?”

Sinbad nodded and laughed shyly. “I do. But Sharrkan said you could replace him for one day. He really likes you it seems.”

_Well yeah, that was what he had worked for all the time. That stupid Heliohaptan better like him after all of that humiliating stuff._

“I see,” Jafar muttered. Would it really be this easy? “I will think about it. Next month is still a long time away.”

“It is. I just wanted to make sure if you wanted to come along.”

“I will tell you when I know for sure. Good night Sin.”

“Good night, Ja’far.” Sinbad said before he closed the door again.

With silence back surrounding him, Ja’far chuckled softly.

“I had no idea it would be this easy.”

…

Ja’far felt his heart skip a beat when he looked at the estate of the Caluades family. If there was one family shrouded in more mystery then the Sindria one, it had to be the Caluades’. Rumors had been told ever since Ja’far was a child. The Caluades family, the oldest mafia family in the world, was being controlled by yet another family in the shadows.. Created by a strange lady called Scheherazade 200 years ago it had grown to the top and never left that place. Following the rumors, the spirit of  the young Scheherazade would still haunt the family, telling young leaders what to do. No one would believe these stories until they saw the house themselves. And it was one of the things Ja’far was afraid of: the chance of meeting the legendary Scheherazade.

“What is it? Are you nervous?” Sinbad, who stood next to Ja’far, asked.

Ja’far shook his head. “I am not.” He could hear Sinbad’s laughter.

“You have all reason to be though. Scheherazade and that Muu Alexius of hers are a pain in the ass sometime.”

“Alexius? We’re meeting the Caluades family, right?”

Sinbad nodded and showed Ja’far his usual smile.

“Even though that old guy from the Caluades family claims to be the boss, it is the Alexius family who takes care of everything. Without them, the Caluades family would fall to ruin.”

“I see. And you haven’t used that to your advance yet?” Ja’far only said as they walked through the front gate. Ja’far felt the gun stuck to his body, another reason to why he was scared. Today he would do it. He would kill Sinbad.

“That’d be stupid. As long as we can use them, we don’t erase them. That’s business, Ja’far.”

“Of course. Well then, let’s get this business started then.”

_‘and finally finish mine’_

_…_

She really was there. A young woman with blond hair that nearly reached the floor: the famous Scheherazade. And like Sinbad had predicted, the leader of the Caluades had nothing to say in the whole meeting. Not even the mystery herself said a word, it was all Muu Alexius. A man Ja’far had never heard of before.

The meeting was now over and soon Sinbad would return back home. The gun was still untouched, Ja’far had to strike now. His hand reached down, fingers traced the grip and slowly found their place around the gun. His breathing grew restless, but why was he feeling hesitant right now? His job was easy and he hadn’t been this close in ages. Ready to pull out his gun and shoot, he gave Sinbad one last look. The man had to turn around just then, saying “Let’s go home Ja’far” with a nonchalant smile on his face. Ja’far felt his concentration break, he couldn’t do it…

-BANG-

The sound of shattering glass filled the room. A figure clad in black scanned the room with his red eyes. Ja’far felt a shiver down his spine. He had been sent after all. The other strong person from Ja’far’s family. Judal, who was seen as a talented young man… surely he knew how to kill. But his way of doing it, Ja’far didn’t want to think about it.

“Judal!” It was Sinbad. Ja’far was surprised he even knew of the teenager. But then again, Sinbad was known around town. And Judal would mess around with anyone, even without orders. “What are you doing here?” Anger could be heard in his voice.

“Ah, mister stupid! I’m so lucky to meet you here.” Judal said, snickering softly. “I’m actually here to take Freckles with me. But now that I’ve found you… I might as well finish his job.” He pointed at Ja’far whose face with filled with terror.

“Ja’far, what is he talking about?” Sinbad asked and turned back to Ja’far. The white haired man had quickly taken his gun and pointed it towards his ‘new’ boss.

“I’m sorry Sinbad. I-“ The gun in his hands started shaking. Jafar didn’t understand, why was he feeling so nervous? This was his job. This was the moment he had waited for. And with Judal around, there was no way he could fail. Averting his gaze he pulled the trigger.

Sadness, betrayal, it was written all over Sinbad’s face the second the bullet left the barrel. Everything Ja’far didn’t want to see in that short moment he looked up again. He turned away and walked to the window Judal had entered through. He didn’t want to watch any longer. He didn’t want to see if he had finished the job correctly. He wanted to disappear, go back to his old boss.

…

Sinbad watched the back of his now former friend disappear into nothing. He wanted to chase him, drag him back to his house and ensure him he had to stay, but he couldn’t. A groan escaped his lips, his knees buckled. His hand reached to his abdomen, meeting warm fluid that drenched his shirt. He didn’t have to look back at his hand to know it was blood. He had been too shocked by Ja’far’s betrayal. He didn’t try to evade the bullet and now he paid the price.

Judal’s laughter filled the room. From his blurred vision, Sinbad saw him wiping away tears from his eyes.

“Judal… what did you-“ Sinbad growled.

“Ah come on Sinbad. This is fun! I didn’t expect him to actually shoot you. That leaves less for me.”

The reflection of light from a gun barrel shined in Sinbad’s eye, but he no longer cared. Ja’far was gone and he was alone.

“SINBAD!” The sound of a door opening, yells… Hinahoho? Drakon? Masrur? Why were they around? But Sinbad no longer listened to it as he fell in unconsciousness.

…

When Sinbad opened his eyes again, he saw the ceiling of his own room. He winced in pain when he tried to move around.

 _‘what happened?’_ His mind was empty and memories were impossible to recall. _‘I was at Caluades… then…’_

“JA’FAR!” He shot up and felt his body protesting. Where was Ja’far? He didn’t-

“Sinbad, you shouldn’t be sitting up. Lay down!” It was Yamuraiha who had just entered the room. Gently she pushed her boss back down.

“Yamuraiha…” Sinbad muttered, “What happened to me after the meeting? Where’s Ja’far.”

The woman bit her lip. “You see, Ja’far… he-“

“Ja’far betrayed you.” Hinahoho peeked through the door and entered. Drakon and Masrur followed and Sinbad was sure the others were waiting in the hallway.

“Are you saying you don’t even remember he shot you?” Drakon added.

No, Sinbad did remember it a little. He just didn’t want to think about it. It was better if Judal was the person that almost killed him.

“Judal.” Without realizing, the name escaped him.

“If you want to know about Judal, we can tell you.” Drakon said. “You should know what happened after you lost consciousness.”

Sinbad nodded. “Please do.”

“Alright,” Drakon said and started to talk. “Just so you know, we never believed leaving you alone with Ja’far would end up well. We stayed inside the Caluades mansion and talked with the friends of Muu Alexius until we heard something in the meeting room. But everyone had already left, except for you and Ja’far. So when we entered, Ja’far was gone and you were on the ground in a puddle of blood. For some reason Judal was there as well, laughing. We took his advantage of his fun and captured him.”

“You captured Judal? How?”

“That is not important right now. You can talk to him after you’re able to get out of bed. We locked him up in the basement. What you need to understand is that Ja’far has been spotted yesterday. He has returned to his old boss, which means he was never your ally.”

Sinbad grew silent. So it was true then. Ja’far’s betrayal.

“Sinbad…” Yamuraiha tried to call out to him, but Sinbad shook his head and rejected her.

“Just leave me alone for now.” He responded.

Let down by his response Yamuraiha decided there was nothing she could do. Along with the others she left the room again. Before the door closed Sinbad a soft sigh.

“I will come to check your health later. Please get some rest in the meantime and forget about Ja’far.”

Forget about Ja’far. How could she make that sound so easy? She could only hope he would forget, but he knew he never could. When he closed his eyes again, the first thing that came to his mind was the white hair of the man he couldn’t see anymore.

==========

Sinbad’s healing went fast. So fast it surprised Yamuraiha slightly. Something was driving him to heal quickly and she didn’t have a doubt it was Ja’far’s disappearance that did it. The way it was now, Sinbad would be able to meet Judal soon. And when he did, his questions would be answered. Or something like that. Everyone from the Sindria family knew the black haired killer hated to talk to their leader.

Sinbad stared at the wall in front of him. His mind was a labyrinth and he couldn’t find a way out of his thoughts. He shook his head and headed to balcony to get himself some fresh air. Maybe that way he could forget everything.

The remains of the bullet wound still stung, but it was bearable. He opened the door and leaned over the stone railing to get a view of his garden. It didn’t help him. There was still a feeling of anxiety that bothered him. He just couldn’t understand what it was that made it so hard to just relax. He had tried so hard.

When he turned back to head inside, he noticed a small box placed next to the door. Wondering what the thing was doing there he reached down and took it. _‘For Sinbad and his eyes only’_ was written on top. Even more interested he walked back inside and sat down on his bed. After he had removed the tape sealing the box, he opened it to see its content. A laptop, small but expensive looking lay inside. It was already on, making Sinbad wonder how when it had been placed there. Sinbad softly tapped on the trackpad to start the thing and the screen lit up. A video was opened, the starting point dark so Sinbad couldn’t see what it’d be about. Hesitant he pressed play and watched the screen in upcoming horror.

_A dark room, some green light showed parts of it. Stone walls, shackles at some parts. And a figure Sinbad recognized easily. White hair, red hair dyed the ends of it. Another man entered the screen. Long hair and most outstanding, no eyebrows at all. The man laughed into the camera. Clearly he was having fun. Fun Sinbad couldn’t understand._

_“Ahum,” the man cleared his throat, “Good day ‘Sinbad’. I believe we have never met personally, but I know all about you. And I know you have gotten close to my dear subordinate here.”  The camera switched to Ja’far then turned back to man. “Well then, I want you to know he’s mine and he will always be. You didn’t think you could steal my property that easy, did you? No, this little snake is mine! And I will show you I can do whatever I want with him.”_

_The man picked up the camera and moved it closer to where Ja’far was. “Did you know he tried to kill me? Oh Sinbad, you are such a bad influence… now you even have my dear Judal in your house. But you can keep him. I can entertain myself with my snake.”_

_“Now then Ja’far, my snake, shall we begin?” Sinbad couldn’t see what it was exactly until the man’s hand came back in view. A knife, swaying in front of the camera first, then traced Ja’far’s muscles._

_“I don’t want to follow you anymore.” Ja’far spitted to his boss. “I’d rather be with Sinbad then with you, David!”_

_The knife dug into Ja’far shoulder and a defining scream sounded through the room. More questions and again rejections. Sinbad wanted to stop looking, but he couldn’t. The screams called his name. Ja’far called for him!_

_Finally the screaming died out in sobbing and the camera moved away from Ja’far, who was now covered in his own blood. One more time the other man, no it was David, Sinbad had heard that name quite some times in the video, came in view. He smiled, blood spatters covered his face._

_“Sorry. This little snake is mine.”_

_Then the screen went black._

Horrified Sinbad looked at the black screen. What was that man thinking? How dared he use Ja’far, who had followed him for years probably, like that? He closed the laptop again and sprinted out of the room to the kitchen. When he threw the doors open, all of his friends looked up at him. Yamuraiha immediately ran to his side, asking why he was out of bed and running around like an idiot. But Sinbad brushed all of her concern of and gave the others a stern look.

“I want you guys to help me save Ja’far. He needs us.”

“Never.” Sharrkan responded quickly.

“He can’t be trusted.” Now it was Hinahoho again.

“We don’t want you to be dying on the floor again.” Why was Drakon always like this?

“And you always bring enough trouble as it is.”

“Ja’far isn’t worth your concern.”

If only Masrur and Spartos could shut their mouths this one time. Sinbad tried to win Pisti and Yamuraiha over with a smile, but they both shook their heads.

“Fine!” Sinbad yelled and ran out of the room again. If they wouldn’t help him the that was fine. He knew someone who would.

…

“Forget it.”

“Come on, Judal. Just help me out.”

Judal shook his head, bringing Sinbad’s irritation to an even higher level.

“Judal, you work for this David so you must have some information I could use.” Sinbad pleaded.

“And I’m not telling you.”

Sinbad sighed loudly. “What is it you want? Money? I can give you lots of it.”

Judal shook his head again. “You don’t have what I want. So stop trying.”

A door creaked open and Sinbad saw some strands of blond hair enter his vision.

“How about the layout of the Ren family’s place?”

Pisti had squeezed herself between the two men. Judal’s expression changed slightly.

“How did you- No never mind. You would really give it me?”

Pisti nodded. “After you help us get Ja’far from that creepy grandpa without eyebrows.”

A short ‘tch’ came from Judal, but also a nod. “Fine. But you’d better keep your word.”

Sinbad was shocked. How had Pisti… and why did she suddenly agree to help him?

“Pisti, why?”

“You should learn to hide your stuff better Sinbad. It was horrible seeing that poor guy suffer like that.” Pisti said and grabbed Sinbad’s arm to drag him with her, out of the basement.

“HEY BITCH! YOU’D BETTER RELEASE ME IF YOU WANT TO GET SOME INFO HERE!” Judal’s angry jells echoed through the hallways. Pisti laughed softly and ran back, humming softly in her own enjoyment.

Once back on the ground floor, Sinbad saw his friends. Ready to leave any minute, guns and ammunition wrapped all around their bodies.

“We watched the video. Pisti found it in your room. You could’ve told us.” Hinahoho said as he placed a hand on Sinbad’s shoulder.

“I didn’t think you’d believe me. Plus I didn’t want to hear those screams any longer.” Sinbad admitted. He gave his friends a warm smile before he headed to the front door. Pisti and Judal came running out of the basement when he turned around one more time to face his trusted family.

“Now let’s go. We have to safe Ja’far!”

David had gotten himself a war.

============

The guards around David’s place were weak. The Sindrian group easily killed them of, breaking some windows and expensive looking artworks in the progress. That didn’t matter to them. What mattered was getting Ja’far out of there as soon as possible. Finally they reached the one door they had been waiting for to reach. The gold ornaments placed around, this had to be the place David was waiting for them. Giving his team some last instructions, Sinbad shoved the door open. He hoped to be prepared for what was inside. He would not hesitate to kill today. David would die. But what he saw inside wasn’t what he had expected. The gun in his hands, once ready to be aimed at David’s face, shook in his hands.

David, looking exactly like he had in the video sat on some sort of throne. Sure that disturbed Sinbad, but worse was his company. Ja’far sat on his lap, his head lay against David’s chest. Dark and lifeless eyes looked in his direction, sending a shiver down Sinbad’s spine. This was no longer the Ja’far he remembered. A lot had changed.

David patted Ja’far’s head gently and grinned. “My snake, we have guests it seems. Why don’t you go and greet them?” Ja’far looked up at his boss before giving a small nod and removing himself from the throne. In his hand, David held a gun which he handed over to Ja’far.

“You won’t shoot me, right? Ja’far?” Sinbad whispered. He heard the guys behind him reload their guns. A fight seemed inevitable.

Ja’far took the gun, his eyes still dull. It made Sinbad wonder if Ja’far even realized who he was up against.

“Please die. It is my master’s will.” Ja’far muttered and shot.

…

The sound of bullets flying around the room finally died down after some minutes, but it wasn’t a good sign. Sinbad could hear multiple curses being outed behind his back. They were out of ammo, but for some reason Ja’far was still standing there with a loaded gun, protecting David.

Sinbad dropped his gun. He couldn’t do it, it was just impossible. With slow steps he walked towards Ja’far.

“Ja’far…” His voice was low and serious, “Just stop this already. Didn’t you say you wanted to join me? You wanted to be free from that guy, right?”

The white haired man didn’t seem to be moved by his words. Instead he raised his gun and placed its muzzle right above Sinbad’s heart. David watched him from his throne, the smile on his face had only grown bigger during the previous battle.

“Do it.” He commanded.

Ja’far’s finger traced the trigger. His hands were shaking and Sinbad noticed a small light appearing in his eyes again.

“Sinbad… I’m sorry.” Ja’far whispered. He looked into Sinbad’s eyes one more time, tears falling down his cheeks, when a gunshot sounded.

Sinbad eyes widened as he felt Ja’far’s body fall against his. Behind him, David could clearly be seen. A smoking gun rested in his hand. “Oh no, I lost such a good snake.” The man said between some laughter. “Ah well, he was broken anyways. I put him out of his misery.”

Sinbad didn’t care about David’s laughter any longer. He only cared for Ja’far who was bleeding to death against his shirt at  the moment. He placed an arm under the younger male’s shoulders and knees and carried him to Drakon and Yamuraiha who immediately started to try and stop the bleeding.

Sinbad was filled with anger. The grip around his gun tightened as he glared to David. His eyes were now dark gold, no light could find a way into them. Rage, that was what filled his vision. A layer of red to filter out anything unimportant to the crucial moment of avenging his friend.

David also raised his gun again, but Sinbad didn’t care. He was faster, more motivated to kill. This wasn’t for fun. This was serious business. It was just a matter of timing and before David could aim for his target, Sinbad’s gun smoked. The shot was deafening. A soft curse of pain escaped David’s lips. The gun fell to the ground, his hand was bleeding.

A dark shadow dropped down the ceiling and landed next to Sinbad. Another gunshot and David no longer moved. A small hole now decorated his skull, blood dripping out of it. Sinbad looked to the person at his side. Long braided hair and red eyes that shined with happiness.

“Judal…” Sinbad whispered.

“This is the last thing favor I’m doing you. I didn’t need him anymore.” Judal said as he shrugged his shoulders. One last time he waved at the purple haired man before he left again. “Be sure that pipsqueak of yours brings me those files about the Ren’s. Cause if we ever meet again, I’ll be at their side.” Then he was gone.

Sinbad let out a relieved breath and dropped his gun on the ground. It was empty and thus Judal had saved his life. He turned to his group and saw Yamuraiha, Drakon and Ja’far were no longer present. Sinbad gave a soft smile to his friends and walked to the door.

“Let’s go home. We can’t have the others wait for too long.” He said.

They all nodded and followed Sinbad outside. Pisti clung onto Sinbad’s blood-soaked arm, not caring the tiniest about the stains her clothes would get from it.

“We also have a new member now.” She said happily.

Sinbad smiled. “We do.”

…

When Ja’far opened his eyes again, he met a somewhat familiar ceiling. This scent, it felt so safe. When he looked next to him, he saw a purple color spread over the bed. He was finally free, he was with where he wanted to be.


End file.
